Moroccan Importers Accused of $260 Million Fraud Scheme

Moroccan companies specializing in the import of goods exploited their legal status to make money transfers abroad, through fictitious commercial operations with international service providers.

The value of the goods actually imported by the companies was lower than that shown on the invoices declared to Customs. According to "Assabah", the importers thus carried out wire transfers, higher than the actual value of the imported goods. The difference was diverted to their accounts abroad.

As a general rule, 80% of the checks carried out by the Customs services are based on the documents presented. This allowed the fraudsters to avoid the occasional inspections of goods and thus escape the adjustments decided by the customs officers.

The numerous authorization requests issued by these companies aroused the suspicions of the Foreign Exchange Office elements, who coordinated with the customs services to finally carry out a control of the imported goods. This check made it possible to note the difference between the declared merchandise and the one actually imported.

The daily adds that the Customs services and the Foreign Exchange Office have opened an investigation targeting the managers of the companies concerned. All the transactions carried out by them, over a period of three and a half years, will be scrutinized by the inspectors. According to the control services, no less than 2.6 billion dirhams would have been diverted abroad.